Mar Vista Community Council

Venice Blvd. Construction

Venice Boulevard from Beethoven Street to Inglewood Boulevard is designated as Mar Vista's Great Street. Over year of extensive community outreach neighbors said - by enormous margins - they wanted:

More mid-block pedestrian crossings, so it is easier to walk from one side of the street to the other;

Shorter, safer pedestrian crossings;

Opportunities for public gathering spaces such as parklets, sidewalk seating, and plazas;

Safer bikeways;

Improved amenities, like street furniture and trash bins;

Drought tolerant landscaping; and

Murals and community art.

A team went to work to design a Venice Boulevard that is the heart of the neighborhood, instead of a high-speed roadway that divides it. The first major improvements - recently completed - focused on improving pedestrian safety.

Now construction of protected bike lanes is in progress. This will improve bicyclist safety and, by slowing down traffic, contribute to pedistrian safety. It will take away space not allocated for automobile traffic, so it's being done as a pilot, reversable, project. There will be some striping changes approaching the Great Street boundaries where the roadway design transitions from 3 to 2 lanes, but the protected/buffered bike lanes will only be from Beethoven to Inglewood.